Remember My Love
by This Is My Escape
Summary: She refuses to believe he's gone. Post-finale canon.
1. Remember my love

**AN: This came to me after watching the heartbreaking episode that was the season 5 finale. I'm an angst-whore but man, that was a lot to take in – even for me. I know it was painful, but I'm hoping this brings the smallest sliver of hope to those who read it. It won't be as long as my other fics but it'll be anywhere from 2-5 chapters.**

**I'm certain, now more than ever that DE are endgame because really, how much does this couple have to go through before they finally get their happy ending? Bonnie's Grams said that she was going to take care of her, and when she took Damon's hand and they were met with that white light...I just know we haven't seen the last of them.**

**I know the beginning is a little bit slower (first chapters usually are), but just keep reading until the POV change…I promise the pace picks up…especially considering who comes in to the story. ;) Also, the song "All I've Ever Needed" by Paul McDonald. Listen while reading, if you wish. The lyrics are perfect and it's where I got the title for this story.  
**

**P.S.**

**Gigantic, huge, thanks to my wonderful beta (Valérie) and pre-reader (Mara) for making this readable.**

* * *

Ric has carefully watched the Gilberts for the better part of four months. Jeremy doesn't even bother pretending like he's okay with what's happened, or that he's anywhere close to moving on. Ric doesn't blame the kid. Jeremy's lost the love of his life – twice. He hates that he can't do anything to help, because the phrase "it's all gonna be okay" is a lie, and he couldn't make it sound believable even if he wanted to. Ric's never been that great of a liar (an evader, sure), but he knows that it's going to take a hell of a lot more than a few months to close the lid on his charge's relationship.

So now he's watching Jeremy sketch away on a drawing pad, as he's been doing ever since the collapse of the Other Side, and he knows that it's Jeremy's way of escaping reality. He knows Jeremy can pretend his heart isn't being torn apart from the inside out as long as he keeps his eyes trained on that paper. "You want dinner?" Jeremy gives a short shake of his head. Back to the drawing pad it is, and that's that. Can't make the kid eat if he isn't hungry, but… "I'll take that." Ric snatches the drawing pad from his hands. There's a spark of emotion in Jeremy's eyes that's been nonexistent for what's felt like forever.

"Give it back!" he shouts angrily, making angry swipes to grab at it. "Dammit, Ric!"

"What?" Ric yells back. He's at the end of his rope. He's fed up, can't take watching these two suffer anymore, and he doesn't even know where the hell to begin with Elena. That girl is an entirely different stack of cards that needs careful handling because one wrong move and he knows she's going to crumble. "You need to do something! You and Elena both need –"

"Don't! Okay? Just don't. And I am doing something, alright? It's called drawing!"

"It's called distracting! All you've been doing is distracting yourself, Jeremy. This isn't healthy." He rubs his face with his hand and throws the sketch pad on the table. "Look, I get it."

A scoff in response and then, "The hell you do."

"I get it," Ric repeats, his voice a snarl, and Jeremy's jaw snaps shut. "You think I was perfectly fine after Jenna died? I did the exact same thing you're doing. The only difference is that my distraction involved a hell of a lot more alcohol, so…kudos to you for staying straight-edge."

"You're right…God and I'm sorry, it's just that I watched Bonnie disappear right before my eyes; there one second and then literally gone the next. It really sucks, you know? And drawing got me through Mom and Dad's death too, so….I figured, it may not be the healthiest thing, but it's normal for me."

"I didn't know," Ric says, sliding the pad across the table until it's in front of Jeremy again, and he watches him tentatively take it back. "About it being a coping tool for you back then too."

"Yeah, well, now you do."

"Now I do." Ric scratches his hair and then looks up to the ceiling, thinking about his other charge who's upstairs and probably acting like everything's okay when he knows damn well that she isn't.

* * *

Tears are streaming down her face, because the second Ric says her name in his outburst, she knows her attempts at convincing everyone that she's been moving on have failed. She's tried to be as upbeat as possible after the first month of losing, not just her best friend, but also the love of her life. Everybody's been nodding and smiling, and she thought she'd been convincing.

It seems like her attempts have been futile, after all.

She still has nightmares of the night her life changed forever, the night Damon broke the one promise he'd vowed to always keep. The nightmares have her waking up screaming, sweat pouring down her heaving chest, and hot tears rolling down her face at the memory of losing him so unexpectedly, when he should have crossed back over with her.

She asked him not to go through with the suicide mission of blowing up Mystic Falls, had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was going to go terribly wrong, but because he insisted on going through with it, so did she. She wasn't about to let him go through that alone, not when her own happiness was at stake should something go awry…and it did. And in the moment that Bonnie appeared before her, she knew they weren't alone and that Damon had come to say goodbye. She might not have been able to hear his words, but that didn't mean she hadn't felt everything, from the gentle brush of her cheek, to the careful caress of her wrist. And when he finally left her, she'd felt that too.

The funeral was even worse. She vaguely remembers Ric holding her while she bawled her eyes out over his grave, unable to utter a word. She couldn't make herself tell Damon goodbye. Saying the words would mean she'd accepted that he was never coming back to her. And her throat simply refused to voice the words her subconscious didn't want her to say.

She's determined now more than ever to look for Damon, and to find him. He isn't really gone. She knows this on some basic level. She can't really say how she knows, but whatever she felt right when he disappeared from Earth… It has changed recently, and there's a part of her that can feel him again. She always knew he was in the room before she even saw him, and when he died, that solid presence disappeared. Now, however, she can feel something again –slightly different than before – not as strong, but it's there nonetheless, and she's hell-bent on bringing him back all the way.

She's walking over to her closet when she hears someone knocking, and she grits her teeth, whirling around after quickly wiping her tears, only to see Ric leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. She greets him with a smile that she hopes isn't too forced.

"What's up, Ric?"

Ric shrugs and eyes her carefully before asking if she's okay. "You never came down for dinner."

Now it's her turn to shrug, but she never loses her smile. "Wasn't hungry…I was thinking of calling it an early night."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She swallows. "Tired."

"Tired?"

"Yeah." Her face falls for a split second, knowing that he's trying to read her, trying to figure out if he can trust whether or not she's okay when they both know she isn't. "So if you don't mind…I'm going to bed now."

"Okay...did you know Jer's been drawing a lot?"

It's clear to her that Ric's trying to keep her talking, trying to keep her from going into a spiral that she's admittedly trying her damnedest to avoid. "I know. Let him, it's keeping him grounded."

"And what's keeping you grounded?" he asks, his brow ticking upward and damn, she really should have been prepared for that, but she hasn't been herself since that night.

"I'm fine," she tells him firmly. She notes the hitch in her tone that shoots through her voice before she can stop it. "Just tired, remember?"

"Sure," he nods, still staring at her warily and she knows he doesn't believe her. But he's never been one to push, and she's grateful for everything he's done for her and Jeremy these last few months. Ric gives her one last look before leaving, and she blurs over, shutting the door, and then walks back to her closet. Taking a deep breath she turns the handle and pulls the door open to reveal an array of notes, clues, spells she can get a witch to cast, and leads that might bring her to him.

Because he isn't gone. She knows this, deep in her gut, and that feeling can't be wrong. She heads over to the bed and sits down, picking up her favorite picture, the one they took the first day of the summer where they'd spent the majority of that day in his bed.

"I won't give up," she whispers, running her thumb in circles over the glass. She sets the picture frame down and reaches under the mattress, pulling out a fully packed suitcase. She hasn't lived in this temp home for long (Ric's compelled the owner to take a long vacation until he and the Gilbert clan can figure out their next move considering they're still not able to go back to Mystic Falls), and she can't sit on her thumbs any longer. She needs to do something.

She needs to find him.

"I know you promised to come back to me, but I'm going to find you, Damon. I'm bringing you home."

With that, Elena picks up her suitcase and blurs out of the house before her guardian or brother can stop her. The only thought that's running through her mind is that her heart isn't going to be hurting for much longer.

* * *

He's waiting.

For what, he isn't sure, but it's taking a helluva long time for something that shouldn't take more than a few minutes. He doesn't get the point of makeup. It covers the real person underneath and tricks poor bastards into thinking the woman staring back at them is actually decent looking. Holly's been stuck on this idiot since they first locked eyes. She's been gaga for Dumbass the last two weeks, and now that he's made a move, she's taking her sweet time prettying herself up for someone who only cares about what's underneath her skirt anyway.

But it isn't to say that she isn't a looker, because she is. He just doesn't see her that way, and hasn't for as long as he can remember.

Girl is like the annoying little sister he's never had.

"I'm gonna leave your ass behind if you don't get a move on, Sanders!"

"Hang on a second!"

And then he's turning around, and there she is, dressed in a skirt that's mid-thigh (dammit) with a frilly, low-cut top (double-dammit), and he's smiling a forced grin at her. "Well, look at you. Don't you clean up nice?"

She gives him a quick spin that has her skirt twirling and flashing her smooth mocha skin. "You think he'll like?"

"If he has eyes, he'll like." He holds his hand out to her and succeeds in swallowing the word 'unfortunately'. "Now let's get a move on. Dum Dum is gonna wonder if you're ditching him already."

"Don't call him that, Cooper." She rips out of his hold and smacks him. Blazing green eyes meet his and he glares at her. She's got a mean punch for such a little thing.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You always do this!" Holly growls, glaring at him. "Every single time. Seriously, what is your problem?"

He goes to answer, only to realize that he's got nothing to say. He really doesn't have a good reason to explain why he constantly gives all of her boy toys shit. But it isn't like she doesn't do the same, because she does. Whenever he snaps and asks what her problem is, she isn't able to give a reason either. He's always found that strange as hell, but whatever.

"You deserve better," he shrugs with a smirk. "Someone who isn't a moron and cares more about you than he does about the type of gel he's going to put in his hair in the morning." Flashing his blue eyes at her, he adds, "So sue me for caring."

"I know you care." Holly's face softens and she touches his arm. "But tonight is supposed to be fun, remember? David's bringing Allison." She winks and he rolls his eyes. "Oh, come on! We're heading over to that town where they had that gas leak in the spring? Remember the explosion on the news?"

"Mystic Falls?" he grimaces. "That place is nothing but ashes by now and you wanna go there…why?"

"Because it's exciting."

"Oh, because it's exciting."

"And," she adds, as if giving him another reason will suddenly make him change his mind, "Something is telling me to go there."

"Really?" he scoffs. "'Cause something's telling me to run in the opposite direction."

"Oh, come on, Coop. It's been months since the accident. Besides, they're starting to rebuild and people are moving back. It's not like it's a ghost town, and we're not moving there…why are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid." He narrows his eyes at her. Blue locks with green as he says, "Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes, Hol, I'm _not_ afraid."

"Are too." She relaxes and gives him a mega-watt smile (if he didn't already see her like a sister, he'd definitely be into her). "Come on, don't be all doom and gloom alright? Lighten up."

"I'm a fatalist," he grumbles. As soon as the words leave his mouth, his brows knit together. A strange sense of déjà vu washes over him but he shakes it off. He sighs heavily, raking a hand through his jet black hair, and rubs his neck. "Fine, judgy, whatever. Your turn to make the plans tonight anyway."

Mystic Falls might not be a ghost town, but the place gives him the heeby jeebies. And not that he would ever tell Holly, but he's woken up in the middle of the night multiple times, sweating his ass off and feeling like he's run a freaking marathon. He's had nightmares about that fucking town, and he's had them for as long as he can remember, nightmares of a faceless girl that means more to him than anything he could have ever imagined, and of being forced to leave her behind. Whenever he wakes from one of those dreams, his heart is sore and his eyes burn furiously. He has absolutely no desire to go visit the reason for his lack of sleep. But Holly Sanders is stubborn on her worst days, and impossible to dissuade on her best.

Grudgingly, he slips on his leather jacket, and follows his friend out to the car.

Mystic Falls is about to have four new visitors, and Cooper Jackson can't help but think his life is about to change forever.

* * *

**AN: Alright so there are a lot of theories floating around on what exactly has happened to Bonnie and Damon, and this is mine. I think that when the show returns come fall, they'll have complete amnesia and won't remember a damn thing about who they are, and I think they'll be human too…I think Grams' plan for Bonnie was to insure that she'd go back as a human, lacking any and all magic so as to avoid the hell she'd endured once she found out she was a witch. As for Damon, because he took Bonnie's hand when they found peace, I think all of his supernaturality (is that a word I don't even know) was stripped too.**

**Ugh. I don't think I'll ever get over this finale (or be able to stop listening to "Wings" because it's so freaking beautiful). Anyway, if you're interested in reading more about my theory, liked what you've read, or if you even just want to share your feelings on the finale, please take a moment or two and leave them in a review. Let's sob and mourn over our loss together. *eternal cries* ~Kate**


	2. You can't feel your feelings go away

**AN: Quick thanks to Valérie for being my beta. You rock so hard, and so do those of you who reviewed! Anyway, here is the second chapter! **

**Enjoy! ~Kate**

* * *

_White. Nothingness. Cold… and not a damn thing resembling peace._

"_Bennett, where the hell are we?" Damon asks once as soon as he can see her in the absolute nothing. This place feels like a freaky episode of The Twilight Zone. _

"_I'm not sure." He looks at her and watches an expression of uncertainty flash across her face. "This isn't…this can't be what Grams meant. She's wrong...this...can't be right."_

"_What are you babbling about?"_

"_She said she ensured my peace…that she found hers because she made sure I'd find mine, but…" The witch shakes her head, perplexed. "This can't be what she meant. We've been here less than five minutes…and this is definitely not peace. This is miserable."_

"_Kudos to Captain Obvious," he grumbles, narrowing his eyes at the blank…everything. "Any clue how we get out of here?"_

_"_Can_ we get out of here?"_

_"What do you mean, 'can' we? We sure as hell better be able to!"_

"_I don't know. We could try walking?"_

_"Walking," he deadpans. "Where do you propose we go? And i__n which direction?" he counters, throwing his arms out. "Because look around you, Bon-Bon! There isn't exactly a yellow brick road to follow."_

_He knows she can't help this either, and that he's being overly harsh and snappy, but when he's upset Snarky Douchebag is his default setting, his coping mechanism. He's anxious to get back. Even if it isn't back to Mystic Falls – he could care less about that town – he just wants to get back to the real world. A world where he can touch and see and hear everything. _

_A world that has Elena Gilbert in it._

_God, he misses her. He isn't sure how much time has passed since he told her goodbye, since he pretended that he'd found peace with his final words to her. He knows now that it was nothing more than that: Pretense. He meant every damn word he said to her, couldn't bear not telling her how he felt one last time. He had to touch her smooth skin, look into her tear-filled eyes and express with brutal honesty what she meant to him… And it would have been enough, if those really had been his final as it turns out, he's still here. _

_Wherever "here" is._

"_I guess if we walk…anywhere…it'll lead us somewhere." Bonnie places a hand over her face like a shield. The whiteness is so bright: it's like freshly fallen snow on the sunniest day of the year with the sunlight reflecting off of it, blinding anyone who looks at it. "This place can't be infinite."_

"_I sure as hell hope not."_

* * *

His stomach is rolling for two reasons:

One) Because something is telling him that they're going the wrong way, but he isn't sure why because the GPS is telling the driver that they're going the right way and,

Two) Because the driver sucks at driving.

"Sanders, how about you let someone else take the wheel?" he asks his friend while the other two passengers nod their heads in agreement. "Unless, you know, you _want_ to be scrubbing vomit out of the back seat for the next month or so."

"Not happening," Holly says brightly, flashing her white smile and locking eyes with him in the rearview mirror. "My car, I drive it."

"Me too," Allison looks over her shoulder and at him with a smile. She's hot, with her shiny blonde hair and big, blue eyes – he'll give her that, but she's been pissing him off since they pulled out of the driveway. "And I'm next."

"I don't think so, Barbie," Cooper snaps, only to pause at the familiarity of the phrase. He's used it before, he thinks, but not with her...he _thinks_. He shrugs off the feeling, because that's exactly what Allison looks like: a plastic doll that's too perfect to be real, causing guys to break their necks to get a better look and turning all the ladies' eyes green with jealousy. "If you drive, the contents of my stomach will definitely ruin the interior of this car. My mouth won't be to blame."

"Dude," David laughs. "Too graphic."

Cooper shrugs. "It's the truth."

Allison speaks up and turns around in the front seat to face him completely. "Cooper, I sent you a text."

He never even felt his phone vibrate. "Huh," he smirks. "You don't say."

"Aren't you going to check it?"

He narrows his eyes as if he's thinking about it before pulling it out of his pocket and looking down at his phone. He looks at the date and right below it is a green box with a text from an unknown number. He holds the phone up so she can see it.

"This is you?"

"Why don't you open it and find out?" she tosses back, no hiding the lust in her eyes and David whistles, muttering a chuckled _"Damnnnn,"_ under his breath, but it's loud enough that Cooper can hear it. He rolls his eyes at both of him and opens the message:

**There's a lot I'd like to do with that mouth. ;-)**

His brows shoot up to his hairline and he looks at Holly instead of Allison. Desperation is the least attractive quality out there, and he isn't sure why, but an incredible feeling of guilt washes over him at reading the brazen text. "Good to know." She winks at him and he looks away, out of the window and into the dark.

It's another few hours of trying not to puke in Holly's car before the gas light on her dashboard dings. "Uh oh," Allison sings and Cooper yawns, before rolling the stiffness out of his shoulders. "Looks like we're going to have to continue on foot from here."

"Like hell we will," Cooper growls, leaning forward and cursing when he sees the orange icon that's lit up. "Dammit, why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I forgot. We were playing games to pass the time and you were sound asleep. You should have reminded me!"

At this moment, he has no idea what the hell he was thinking when he wanted to shack up with her. She's an idiot. "Yeah, because it's the passenger's job to pay attention to the gas gauge. Brilliant reasoning there, Al."

"Relax, Coop," Holly warns, rubbing her tired eyes. She looks at her phone and says, "There's another gas station about ten miles away from here. We've got enough gas left for twenty miles so it's not that big of a deal."

"I don't like things out of order, and I don't like unnecessary stress."

This time it's his friend's turn to roll her green eyes. "You're the one stressing unnecessarily, Jackson."

"Yeah, well," he grunts, "I'm surrounded by idiots." She glares at him and he smirks. "Except for you, of course."

"You choose to be surrounded by them."

"Touché, little bird. Touché." He reaches over and ruffles her dark hair and Holly squeals, batting his hands away when Allison suddenly screams, and has everyone jerking forward by slamming on the breaks.

"What the hell?"

"Drive much?!"

"Allison, what's wrong?"

Everyone in the car is hollering and complaining about the sudden stop, but the blonde does nothing but point straight ahead. All eyes turn to look out the windshield and standing there in the middle of the headlights is a five-foot-seven brunette, who looks like she can't quite believe what she's seeing.

She's just standing there, completely frozen, opening and closing her mouth several times and Cooper wonders if she's about to pass out with how white she's turning while staring at their car.

There are two things now screaming at him inside his mind, fighting for his attention. The first is warning him that if he gets out of Holly's car, his life will never be the same (the same feeling he got when he agreed to join these people on this stupid road trip), and the second is a feeling of rightness, an inexplicable pull towards the woman standing in front of his friend's vehicle.

It's the latter feeling that wins out, and he reaches for the door handle just as someone grabs his arm. "What if she's a serial killer?"

"What if I knock you in the face?" Cooper nearly does just that but instead goes for simply shaking the offending limb off. He climbs out of the car and approaches the frozen figure in front of him. She's still not moving or speaking or…hell, is she even breathing? "Hey," he says, absently noting the husky turn his voice has taken. "You okay?"

"I'm…" the dark-haired girl blinks, and he thinks he sees tears brimming in her eyes. The sight causes an unexpected pang in his heart. "I'm not sure…is any of this real?"

His lips twist into a pout and his brows dip in confusion. "Uh…I'm pretty sure you're not dreaming…so…I'm gonna go with yes?"

One second she's five feet in front of him and the next her arms are locked around his neck in a vice and holy hell this girl is strong for such a tiny thing. "Breathe," he gasps out. "Can't breathe!" Instantly his windpipe is free and he takes in a hefty gulp of air, wrapping his hand around his neck to rub the soreness away. "If that's supposed to be your _thanks_ for not running you over…you're thanking the wrong person."

"Damon," she cries, her sobs mixing with laughter, and he's effectively baffled at this reaction. Her smile nearly knocks him on his ass, though her tears are killing him. He wants her to keep smiling at him like she is, but wants her tears to immediately cease...he feels an unbelievable familiarity with her though he shouldn't because he doesn't know her at all. God, he's so confused. "Damon, I knew I'd find you…I just…I don't – I –How did you do it?"

"How did I do…" he starts before he grimaces… "Wait a second, what did you call me?"

"Damon." She says again, her voice still filled with laughter as her hand reverently reaches up to touch his face. It feels so good to have this unknown girl's fingers touching his cheek that it takes him a while to grasp the extreme weirdness of the situation. When he finally does, it suddenly freaks him out. Especially when she's calling him by a name that definitely isn't his. "God, I've missed you so much."

"Um," he laughs shortly and looks over his shoulder, seeing Holly getting out of the car, along with Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dumber. They're taking their time making their way over, but they're moving toward them. He looks back to the brunette. "Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but there isn't anybody here with that name."

"Cooper?" Allison calls and his jaw ticks. The girl's eyes dart to the blonde and he wants to kick himself without knowing why. He hasn't done anything wrong, hasn't done a damn thing but stand there like a log. Still, he feels like he just betrayed her.

And as he stares into the girl's doe-brown eyes, he hates the fleeting look he sees in them: her heart is breaking. He hates knowing this as much as he hates feeling like he should know this woman, but he doesn't.

He keeps his eyes trained on the brunette, even as he answers Allison's query, "Yeah?"

"Are you going to just stand there, or what?"

He's still watching her when her eyes darken, and he swears he sees purple lines snaking around her eyes…they look like veins, but he can't honestly be seeing that, can he? Surely the shitty nap in the car and the darkness are making him see things. He blinks twice and when he refocuses, her skin is unblemished and perfectly smooth.

"Or what?," the girl growls before turning back to look at Cooper. He has to admit he secretly likes the way she's looking at Allison – he's too annoyed with the blonde to pretend to be friendly anymore. "Damon..._Cooper_? Do you…Do you know who I am?"

"Not a clue, but I'm pretty sure I'd like to," he smirks, holding his hand out. "Cooper Jackson."

"I'm –"

"Stunning," he tells her sincerely and he doesn't bother to correct himself, not knowing where the hell that came from but knowing damn well that it's one hundred percent the truth. "Sorry, you were saying…?"

"I'm Elena." He watches her swallow hard and then she thrusts her hand out to shake his with a bright smile. It looks a little too forced to be real, but he slides his hand into hers. "Nice to meet you."

The feeling of their palms pressed together and their fingers wrapped around each other causes him to momentarily lose his train of thought. "No…No, Elena, the pleasure is all mine."

"Cooper?"

He looks over too see Holly staring at him strangely. "Are you getting back in the car? We need to fill it up, remember? No gas? Close to pushing this thing another ten miles?" she looks over his shoulder. "What were you staring at?"

"I think you mean…," he looks back to Elena, but she's gone, as if she was never there. What the hell...? "Who...who cares?" he spins back around, walking back towards the car and throwing an arm over Holly's shoulder. "Let's get you, your boyfriend and the wannabe Barbie doll out of here."

* * *

Elena's back at the borrowed house, the sound of her bawling drowned out by the crashes of breaking objects that are shattering because she's throwing them at the wall. She's making sure every item she grabs is made of glass. She wants to see everything break; see with her own eyes what her heart feels like it's doing at this very moment.

How could he not remember? He took one look at her, and didn't even bat an eye. He didn't remember! How could he not remember?

Something had to have been done to him. To both him and Bonnie, because Damon would never pretend like she didn't exist.

"He didn't remember me, Ric. He didn't even remember his own name! And Bonnie doesn't either. How the hell can he not remember?!"

"Bonnie was there?" Jeremy asks, his eyes lighting up for the first time in God knows how long. "How was she?"

"Aside from her not remembering her best friend? She looked pretty good, I guess…for someone who doesn't remember her best friend." She throws her hands in the air and scrapes her fingers through her hair, pulling at it too hard. She welcomes the pain. It's better than remembering the complete lack of recognition on Damon's face. "This has to be something supernatural...a spell…something…" She inhales through her nose and exhales sharply. She does this several times to calm herself down but it doesn't seem to work.

She'd never guess in a million years that she'd find him this fast. She'd gone out to hunt, alone, just like any other night since losing Damon. And just like always when she was on the prowl, she'd been remembering Damon. The sound of his voice, the expression on his face whenever he looked at her. And then there he suddenly was, in the flesh, as though someone had conjured him up in response to her thoughts.

And then she realized she didn't lose him after all.

And now she's going through the pain of losing him all over again.

"You said they're calling each other by different names?" Jeremy asks, bringing her attention back to the matter at hand.

"I don't know about Bonnie. I only know that Damon introduced himself as Cooper Jackson. Cooper Jackson! God, he said he didn't know anyone by the name of Damon Salvatore…I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do now, Jere. Ric, should I go find another witch? Or try to track down Liv?"

"You stay the hell away from her," Jeremy snarls. "She's the reason we're in this to begin with! Had she completed the spell, Damon would have passed through and Bonnie would have been fine."

Elena sends him a sad smile. She isn't sure she agrees with him on that, because she's pretty sure Bonnie wouldn't have been fine (even though she wishes she could have her brother's optimism).

"You said there were other people with them?" Ric says, trying to calm them both down by not so subtly changing the subject.

Elena nods, biting her lip and trying to think back. "Some girl came out of the car and another guy was with them, I think, but I don't know if they know anything about anything, really. I mean, they looked just as confused as Bonnie and Damon did…I don't think they even knew I was there…which is good because I wasn't trying to get anyone else's attention other than Damon's." She frowns and closes her eyes, shaking her head. "I mean _Cooper's _attention."

"Maybe you could see him again?" Jeremy asks. "Try to jog his memory?"

"God this is like Stefan all over again," she sighs and then her head snaps up. "Stefan! He needs to know his brother is alive!" Elena whips out her phone and searches through her contacts for his number. She hits the dial button. "Stefan," she quickly greets once she hears someone answer. "You won't believe what I…Caroline?"

She watches Ric and Jeremy exchange glances and then look away, Ric pours a glass of amber liquid into a tumbler while Jeremy grabs a pencil and resumes sketching into his drawing pad.

"Wait, w-wait, Care, slow down," she says. "What do you mean he's gone? He wouldn't just disappear." Her face falls as she shakes her head in a slow motion. "No, he wouldn't do that…he promised he'd do whatever it took to bring him back, Caroline, dammit! Well, what am I supposed to...how? No, I'm not…"

She pauses to hear her friend's response and the next thing she knows she can't bear listening to another word. Elena throws her cell phone at the wall and it breaks apart into three pieces. "Dammit!"

Great.

Just…_great_.

"I take it there's trouble in paradise?" Ric asks, taking a large swig of his Whiskey.

"Or is there something wrong with Broody?"

Elena glares at both of them, and then chooses to ignore her non-step-dad's and her brother's new attitude (the one that reminds her so much of Damon). She storms out of the room, but not before saying, "He turned his humanity off. Stefan flipped the switch," and slams the door shut behind her.

* * *

Having made it to the gas station before actually having to push the VW beetle, they fill the car and this time Cooper refuses to let anyone else drive. His sensitive stomach can't take any more of the teenyboppers' - damn, there goes that Déjà Vu again - whacky driving. He can't take any more of Allison's desperate come-ons and he can't take listening to the way Holly's humming along to the singer on the radio another second…

"Hol, if I have to listen to one more Katie Perry song, I'm going to lose my shit."

"You're driving which means I get dibs on the radio."

"Fair enough," he grumbles and flicks on the turn signal to head onto another street. Twenty minutes before they finally reach Mystic Falls, and David and Allison are passed out in the backseat. She's resting her head on his shoulder and Holly's clearly not happy about it. Both his and Holly's elbow are resting on the console, so Cooper nudges her. "Stop pouting."

"I'm not pouting."

"You're definitely pouting. Knock it off."

"Well, if you'd have just let Allison sit up here with you, I could be back there with him." She looks over her shoulder at the sleeping dummies and sighs. "I'm not usually like this over guys so I don't know what the big deal is."

"You're in love," Cooper teases. "How sweet."

"Shut up, Cooper. I'm too tired to deal with you tonight." She yawns and then leans her chair backward. "I'm sorry you and Allison aren't working out. I thought you would hit it off."

"She's hot, but weird."

Suddenly he sees a TV screen, a game controller, and a dark-haired teenager who can't be older than sixteen in his mind. Voices flash in his head, one of them sounding a lot like himself:

"_Is she hot?"_

"_Yeah, but she can be kind of weird."_

"_Hot trumps weird…_trust _me."_

"COOPER!" Holly screams and he slams on the breaks, the car coming to a harsh stop for the second time that night right before it goes sailing into a river. He reaches across and grabs Holly's face. "You okay?" he asks, examining every inch of her and watching closely while she takes a few heavy breaths and stares back at him wide-eyed.

"Y-yeah," she stammers, reaching up and placing her hands on top of his. She looks over her shoulder again: David and Allison are still sound asleep. "What the hell was that? You started to veer off the road, did you fall asleep?"

"No...I," he shakes his head, swallowing thickly and thinking back to what nearly caused an accident. He lets go of Holly's face and he lets his head fall back against the headrest. He didn't fall asleep, he just wasn't paying attention...stuck in some weird daydream that felt like a lot more than a daydream, but that can't be right...

God, he needs sleep.

He hasn't been acting like himself lately. He's been zoning out a lot more, déjà vu has been taking place more and more often, and that girl tonight…he didn't daydream her, did he? He spoke to her. He touched her. She was real. "No, I didn't fall asleep."

He might not have fallen asleep, but he's falling now. Whether it's in love with someone he doesn't know, or he's falling into madness, he's definitely falling.

"Cooper, look."

He looks at Holly, who is pointing at something. It's a welcome sign that reads:

_Welcome to_

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

* * *

**AN: I'm more certain that something along these lines is going to happen come season 6, especially now that I remember something Damon said to Elena in 5x01: **"**I plan on forgetting about you the second you walk out that door."I don't know, maybe it's a coincidence…but I think that was skillfully placed there for 6x01. I think the writers knew exactly what they were planning for this season when it came to Damon's fate, even that early on. Now, about the story...  
**

******At the start of this chapter we got a flashback to the limbo Damon & Bonnie were stuck in before they found their way out & lost their memories, and depending on the response, I might delve into that a little more. Also, w**hat did you guys think of Cooper and Elena's meeting? It seems that having met her "again," is triggering more memories to his past-life, but obviously he's confused as all get out right now. Guess we'll have to see what happens next. Still planning on a 5 chapter story, but we'll see if Musie sticks to that or decides it needs to be longer.  


**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are love! ~Kate**


	3. Living a lie

**AN: Thank you for your reviews! Love hearing that you guys are as excited about S6 as I am, and that you're enjoying "Remember My Love." Thank you, Mara and Valérie, for pre-reading and beta'ing this chapter. Y'all are awesome. Enjoy chapter 3! ~Kate  
**

* * *

'_This place can't be infinite', she said," Damon grumbles, glaring at her and then looking back at the endless view in front of them. They've been walking so long he's lost count of the hours, without any end in sight and he's about to call it quits. . "'Walking anywhere will lead us somewhere', she said." He's already bending his knees so he can sit down when he hears a familiar voice. _

"Bonnie."

"_Bon?"_

"_I heard it." He looks at her and her eyes look tearful, hope and relief in their green depths, and he straightens, walking closer to her because while the voice is one they know, they don't trust this limbo they're stuck in, or who may be stuck with them._

"Bonnie."

_They look at each other and Damon goes closer still, stepping protectively next to her and preparing, because he isn't sure which direction the voice is coming from. _

"_Stay close, Bon-bon," he tells her while trying to locate whoever called out to her. Seconds pass when he feels the former witch grab his arm and whisper his name. He bends his head and sees her eyes wide and are once again full of tears – he hates it when Elena cries, and anyone else crying just annoys him – but then he looks up, and there's the source of the voice:_

_Grams._

_Now that he can see her, Damon shoves Bonnie behind him and cocks an eyebrow. "Not quite what you had in mind for your darling, is it, Sheila?"_

"_I don't understand," she replies. "What are you doing here? What is he doing here?" _

_Bonnie scoffs. "What is he doing here? What does it matter? What are _we_ doing here, Grams! You couldn't have had this in mind for me, it's…it's completely desolate. I don't like it, I'd rather be –"_

"_You are," she says softly. "And you're right, child. You should not be here, but because you had to have been touching him," she doesn't even call him by his name, but looks at Damon and he rolls his eyes. "Because you had to have been touching him, it landed you here. This is worse than the other side."_

"_What the hell does that mean? You're saying it's my fault Bonnie didn't find peace?"_

"_That's exactly what I'm saying."_

"_I messed with your plan."_

"_Yes," Grams nods, though she looks angry she doesn't direct it at him. She's simply being honest. "You messed with my plan."_

_Damon grimaces, and chances a glance in the little witch's direction before smoothing out his features and shrugging. Girl's still sobbing. "So fix it."_

"_I can't fix it."_

"_What?" Damon snaps. "If you're really Bonnie's grandmother, and you want what's best for her then you're going to fix this, Sheila."_

"_Damon," Bonnie whispers, squeezing his bicep and he shrugs her off. "This isn't her fault…this isn't even your fault. It's just –"_

"_Bullshit! That's what it is, Bon, okay? It's bullshit!" Damon shouts and storms up to Grams, grabbing her by her arms. "You need to fix this, get us – Jesus, at least your _granddaughter_ – to find peace. Limbo sucks, in case you haven't noticed!" He scowls, panting from his outburst. "What are you doing here, anyway?"_

"_This is the sacrifice I made _for _her." They hear Bonnie's quiet gasp and Grams merely smiles a sad smile. Bennett witches are all about the self-sacrificing, he thinks. "I can't fix this."_

"_Do you know who _can_ fix it?" he asks after a long beat of silence. "I'm already bored. I'd like to live out the rest of my…nonliving…days somewhere less, oh, I don't know…Twilight Zoney."_

"_I overheard something, right before you and Bonnie crossed over," she begins, and he thinks 'now we're talking,' as she continues. "It entails a lot of pain, both physical and emotional, and a few more consequences still, but…I'm sure you'll both find it worth it in the long run."_

"_What makes you think that?" Damon scoffs. "I doubt it, if it means –"_

"_You can live again."_

_Damon waits for the warning signs to start sounding off in his head, but they never come, and when he looks at Bonnie and sees that same look of hope he himself is surprisingly starting to feel, he nods at her._

"_Start talking."_

* * *

Cooper stares at Holly and wonders what the hell he's doing by not stopping her. Something is telling him to leave her alone though, that she's fine to go into a bar all by herself.

_Mystic Grill's Grand Re-opening_, the sign by the door reads.

He may not feel the need to run in behind her, to make sure that she'll be alright, but he does, however, feel the need to toss back a shot or two, after the shitty day he's had.

They nearly made it to the gas station, when they hit something and their vehicle's rear tire flattened. They had to get a tow truck to come, and shell out more money than they'd thought was necessary to pull the car for ten minutes to the closest repair shop, which happened to be located behind the restaurant they're at now.

A little chat with the receptionist got them a recommendation on where to grab some food since it would take some time to find a decent enough tire to match the rest of the set. The Mystic Grill was it, Mystic Falls' best (and only) bar and grill.

As soon as they set foot in the door, Cooper started to have what felt like hundreds of memories flood his mind. It confused the hell out of him because they didn't feel like _his_ memories. Familiar, sure, but they felt like they belonged to someone else, and admittedly, he envied the bastard. The man he was remembering seemed to have it all, a huge home, a brother who, when he wasn't fighting with him tooth and nail, was fighting _for_ him, and the love of his life in his arms.

And right before the onslaught of images ceased, the girl in his arms looked up at him, and he was floored by who he saw.

The girl wasn't just any girl. He knew this girl. Elena Gilbert. The same girl who'd introduced herself and then disappeared like a clichéd magic trick.

He rubbed his face and walked into the restaurant, and was hit yet again by another flashback as his eyes settled on the bar:

"_That was fun…oh, don't look at me like that," he tells the scruffy-jawed man sitting beside him. "I know you hate me. Guess what?" He cups his hand and leans into whisper, "Everyone hates me." The man looks back to his drink, and downs the remains. "But you can't deny, we were bad ass."_

What the hell? He remembers a dull throb in his jaw from the sucker punch in response to his comment, and he rubs at it, as if to rub away the pain he felt.

Wait. What?

How the hell can he remember something that never happened?

"I can't believe that asshole," Holly snarls in a harsh whisper, bringing him out of his bizarre waking dream, and he watches as she crosses her arms to match her cross mood as David and Allison walk into the Mystic Grill – with their arms looped around each other's waists.

She has every right to be pissed off, he thinks, considering Dum Dum has been leading her on and sneaking around with her best gal pal behind her back. He hadn't realized it until he caught them macking on each other in the backseat when Holly was in the restroom, and since he had the role of Best Friend, Cooper couldn't not tell her.

Well, he could have. But it would have been the ultimate Dick Move on his part.

He knows it isn't his business, he debated on even telling her, but since Holly's feelings _are _his business_,_ it made the decision easy. She and David weren't really official, but the feeling of being screwed around on doesn't suck any less, he ventures, considering the look of betrayal on her face and the way David had been making her feel like he'd been preparing to ask her out.

He's never felt rejection and doesn't plan on it either – relationships have never really been his thing to begin with.

"You're not mad at Barbie?" he asks, still trying to shake off the feeling that the man in his memory seems stupidly familiar, but he can't seem familiar because he's not him. He can't be.

"Oh, I'm livid at Barbie," Holly answers, still gritting her teeth with her green eyes blazing. "And they can look for their own ride home for all I care. I'm done with them."

"Who would've guessed? You hold grudges." Holly glares and he snickers, leaning in to say, "Don't worry about it. They deserve it. Dum Dum's lucky I'm not messing up his already deformed face."

She smiles for the first time since he told her the news and she says, "I don't even care if you call him that anymore."

"Ha, well, I never cared." He grins and she rolls her emerald eyes. Cooper and Holly step through the doors of the Mystic Grill and are immediately greeted with a "Holy shit!" and a "No way!" and he wonders when this day is going to end, because it needs to.

He grabs Holly and whispers, "Can we go now," even though they've been there ten seconds and she glowers at him.

"No."

"But –"

"I'm hurt, hungry, and I don't feel like finding another restaurant so let's just eat here."

"Fine, bossy pants." He can't blame her, he just likes teasing her. He's about to say something else when a husky voice interrupts him.

"Damon?!"

He frowns and looks up at a blonde guy staring at him with wide blue eyes and he thinks that either everyone within a ten mile radius of this town is off their fucking rocker, he's got a twin he doesn't know about, or he's actually who they're saying he is.

But that isn't possible.

It _can't_ be.

* * *

She's been doing a little better, satisfied with the knowledge that her suspicions were right, that Damon isn't dead. He's just…not Damon anymore…and it hurts, but she won't let him go. She can't. He keeps sneaking back into her thoughts and she knows that the real Damon, the Damon that doesn't remember, would be begging her to fight, to try to bring him back to her, to knock him senseless in every mental, emotional, and physical way possible until he remembered. He'd be telling her there has to be a way, to not give up on him when he's just underneath the surface.

Because after all, she did see it.

Amidst all the confusion Damon…_Cooper_ must have felt upon meeting her for the "first" time - drawn together eyebrows, a lost look, and a slow shaking of his head - she was sure she'd seen it.

For a brief second, Elena had caught the tiniest glimpse of recognition in his oceanic gaze and while it pained her that it had evaporated as quickly as it appeared, once she'd calmed down after destroying the house long enough to realize it, she knew he could be brought back.

Ric thinks she's crazy, Jeremy is sympathetic and as desperate to help her bring Damon back as he is desperate to bring Bonnie back, and Caroline and Stefan…

They arrived a few hours ago, and she explained to them her thoughts on the situation, but she can't help but see how much their relationship has grown in the last few weeks. They've seemed to have gotten a lot closer since that fateful night where more worlds than just her own had been flipped upside-down.

Stefan may have flicked his humanity switch, but he still hovers protectively close to Caroline, which both baffles and amazes her, because while his "Care" setting may have been switched off, apparently it's still emitting enough emotion to want to take care of her, even when he feels he can't really take care of himself.

However, he doesn't seem to care in the slightest that there may be a possibility to bring his brother back. Caroline, apparently, has been trying everything in her power to bring Stefan back in the emotional sense so that he'll care enough to actually do something about it.

Elena won't stop until she succeeds though, even if she has to do it on her own. He promised, and she's going to help him fulfill it. She just needs to figure out how.

"Elena?"

She looks into the mirror, and sees Jeremy in its reflection. Jeremy, the boy who turned into a man faster than she could blink. The brother who fights with all he has in him, for her and with her for as long as she can remember.

"_There's nothing more important than the bond of family."_

She remembers saying those words to Damon, before she allowed herself to acknowledge the growing feelings she had for him.

"Yeah, Jeremy," she says quietly, wiping an errant tear away before turning around to face him.

"I just got a phone call." He rubs at his neck, looking a little dazed, and there's a combination of confusion as well as happiness – an emotion she hasn't seen from him in months – in his brown eyes. "It was Matt."

"What did he want?"

She doesn't mean for it to sound as indifferent as it does, but she doesn't bother to correct her tone. Matt was once one of her best friends, but after her family, Caroline, Stefan, and everyone supernatural was forced out of Mystic Falls because of the Travelers' spell, she hasn't kept in touch with any of her old life.

"He's working at the Grill today, and he just called me to tell me that Damon and Bonnie are in Mystic Falls."

With those words, Elena suddenly grabs her keys, with a new priority at the forefront of her mind:

Find Liv and Luke.

* * *

**AN: So, this story is definitely going to be 4 chapters, as well as an epilogue. Hope y'all enjoyed. Reviews are love! ~Kate**


	4. Suitcase of memories

**AN: Final chapter in "Remember My Love." Thanks so much for your reviews, guys! There will be an epilogue though I don't know how long it'll be or when it'll be posted. Just know that there will be one. Valérie and Mara, my awesome beta and pre-reader. Much appreciated, ladies. ~Kate**

* * *

"_So what, pray tell, is your plan, Grams?" Damon asks hesitantly. _

"_The way it's been explained to me is this: you may remember your former life, if your will is strong enough to do so. If not, if your subconscious is content with your new life, then you will be none the wiser. You and Bonnie will travel together in your new lives, having remembered each other for as long as you can remember."_

"_So…what's that mean?" He isn't impressed so far. "Witchy and I are a couple? There is something seriously wrong with that pict–"_

"_No!" Grams exclaims, "Don't be ridiculous. You two will need each other though, and that's where I've instilled this part of the spell. You will both return to familiar areas, you won't have control over it, but urges will force you to go and you must prepare to be ambushed by memories and images of your old life."_

"_Doesn't sound that bad so far," Bonnie smiles. Her eyes are hopeful. But he's waiting for the ball to drop._

"_Drawback is," like clockwork, he thinks as Grams goes on to explain, "even if you do remember, you are no longer supernatural. You do not have magic, Bonnie, and Damon, you are human. You may return to Mystic Falls because of that, but Elena, Alaric, the town is still affected by the Travelers' spell, which means anyone and everyone supernatural cannot return. You know the consequences of doing such a thing. Damon, you remember."_

_His lip curls, but he gives a nod. "No memories once the 'Reset' button on our lives is pressed. Got it."_

"_This choice cannot be undone." Grams look to Bonnie. "Sweetheart, are you sure?"_

"_I'm sure." She nods quickly and Damon sees the movement out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sure."_

"_Damon?"_

"_You heard her." This time, Damon's the one who slips his fingers in between the little witch's without looking at her, keeping his eyes on the elder Bennett. He clenches his jaw, takes a deep breath, and then says, "Let's rock and roll."_

* * *

"I can't believe you're here right now."

"Nice to meet you, man," Cooper says, though it comes off like more of a question because apparently this guy thinks they know each other, or at least he's acting that way with how he's ushering him to the best damned seat in the house, and clearly that isn't the case.

"I can't believe you're here right now." The blond guy, Matt – as he introduces himself, pours him a shot of whiskey, and Damon is impressed because it's his favorite brand.

Lucky guess.

"How are you here?"

"Come again?"

"How are you here? Standing here, right now?"

What the hell, he thinks. "I drove here...like every other person in the country."

"That's now what I meant. Look, you have to understand…" Matt starts, and then after making sure no other customers are looking, he downs a shot himself. "Everybody thought you were dead, man."

"Dead?" he laughs outright, but when Matt doesn't follow suit, Damon just gawks at him. "Hate to disappoint the haters, but I'm alive. Pink flesh and a beating heart."

"I don't get it."

"Not…my problem." He frowns at being called the name that isn't his, as he starts to sink into another memory.

"Uh," he vaguely hears him say. "Damon?"

"Sorry," he grumbles, resisting before he can be pulled further into it. "Zoned out. And for the hundredth time. It's Cooper…what were you saying?"

"Did you just call yourself Cooper?" Matt chuckles, his brows dipping in confusion. "Whatever. I was saying everybody thought you were dead. Does Elena know? How'd you survive the accident?"

It's like a switch is flipped and this time there's no fighting the pull of the images that overtake him.

Accident.

_Accidents._

Matt and Elena's flying over Wickery Bridge and only one of them coming out of it alive.

The other ripping his heart out when hers beat its last heartbeat.

That accident seems like it was from years ago, compared to the one that's bombarding him now.

He's sitting in an older car, but it's in pristine condition, revving the engine as he speeds through the town-line. Faster and faster they head into the heart of Mystic Falls, preparing to eliminate all of the Travelers in one fell swoop. His heart is pounding hard inside of his chest and after he and the girl in the passenger seat say their last goodbyes, the last thing he thinks before he and Elena fly into the Grill, is that he's happy he doesn't have to die alone.

Elena.

Elena Gilbert… Five-foot-seven brunette born and raised in Mystic Falls, Virginia with a younger brother she'd die to protect who both have chocolate brown eyes, though hers have a doe-like quality you could get lost in and the memories come faster and more furiously now, and he thinks his brain may just implode on itself:

"_You want what everybody wants."_

"_What? A mysterious stranger who has all the answers?"_

_He smirks in response. "You want a love that consumes you. You want passion, adventure, and even a little danger."_

"Damon?" the gruff voice calls to him again and he looks at him, finally recognizing the young face that has managed to stay human since shit hit the fan in this godforsaken town back in 2009.

"_Go ahead and kill me!" Matt croaks, and Damon glares at him, wishing more than anything that this bozo had been the one to drown instead of Elena. "You can't possibly hate me more than I do myself."_

"_Oh, yes I can."_

"Damon–"

"Donovan, I swear to god," he growls. "Keep asking questions."

He can't help his sharp intake of breath as soon as the words tumble out of him and he glances up and over to the blond.

It's official. He remembers. Every damn thing. Every glorious moment.

And he immediately realizes he has someone he needs to find.

* * *

Elena tracked down the blond witch siblings who caused her to lose Damon and she asked…well, she forced them to cast a spell on her that would allow her to go back into Mystic Falls long enough to try and convince Damon he is who they say he is. She isn't sure how reliable the spell is, so she makes it a point to grab him, make a beeline for the town-line, and _then _explain everything.

"Matt," she says into her phone. "Call me as soon as you get this…I'm sorry I haven't been around…but…I'm here, and I need your help. Please call me."

She's felt weaker since crossing the line, but she hasn't coughed up water yet, and no sign is something she'll take as a good sign. She thinks, judging by how she feels at this moment in time, that she has about an hour, maybe less, to find Damon, and bring him over the line.

She looks up at the building that changed everything for her. This is the last place where she saw Damon alive, and where they both died, and she wishes now, more than ever, that she would have stayed dead. She goes to step into the restaurant when someone grabs her, presses a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming, and while her first instinct is to break his arm, something tells her to wait.

Her eyes go wide once she sees her attacker and realizes it isn't an attacker at all. It's Damon. And he isn't staring at her like the last time they saw each other. His blue eyes aren't filled with the confusion and hard doubt she saw in them. Now, they're soft with adoration.

He's looking at her like he did before he left this world. Before he left her.

"Where's your friend," she asks carefully, not wanting to get her hopes up and not wanting to say the wrong name and risk chasing him off if she calls him by a name he doesn't go by anymore.

"Eating food, probably getting her ear talked off by Matt."

Her heart stutters for a second but she quickly stifles the feeling. It doesn't mean anything. Whenever Matt meets someone new he introduces himself to anyone, even if they're just a customer. She nods.

"Oh."

"Yup." The next thing he says, steals her breath. "Kind of wondering what he'll say to get Holly Sanders to realize she's actually a Bennett."

With that sentence, Elena knows it's Damon standing in front of her, not Cooper.

"You remember?" she asks, her voice a choked whimper. "Damon, do you remember?"

A smile spreads over his lips as he says, "I remember. I had to forget, just another thing I didn't have a choice in, but…it's me, baby. I'm back." His grin goes wider, pride evident. "I made it back to you, Elena."

"How?" Tears are spilling over her cheeks and she laughs, her heart lightening by the second, relief rolling off her in waves and she throws her arms around him and pulls him to her. "How?"

"Who cares?" he smirks against her skin. "I'm back. Question is, how are you here? Last time I checked there was a certain douchey Travelers' spell keeping vamps from invading Mystic Falls."

"I found the twins...they helped."

"Willingly?"

She bites her lip and shrugs. "I can't always be the nice one." He pulls back and as soon as he presses his mouth to hers, she sighs and he cups her face in his hands. He kisses her as though it's the first and last time he'll ever get to kiss her.

And with as sudden as euphoria came over her, it's vanishing as she feels her lungs tightening, and she wrenches her mouth away from his before gripping her waist, lurching forward. "No," she hears Damon whisper. The spell didn't last long enough. Her attempts to cough up the rest of the water are futile and she buckles. "Elena? Elena!" Damon shouts, catching and then cradling her in his arms just as Matt rushes out, seeming to sense something isn't right and she watches as he throws the car keys to his new truck to Damon.

Damon is swearing at himself, because he can't do anything other than hope the truck has enough "get up and go" to carry them just out of Mystic Falls before Elena drowns again. Her eyes are drifting shut and he isn't going to let them. "Upsy-daisy," he grunts, barely reminding himself of the last time he said that in relation to her as he easily lifts her into his arms. He hurries over to the trunk, acting on autopilot by throwing her into the passenger seat and speeding off.

"Hang on, Elena." Her gasps for air are coming faster now, and every few seconds more water spews forth from her lips, coughs wracking her small frame and his heart is aching for her. She's experiencing her horrific death for a third goddamned time and unless he gets her over that line he won't be able to do a damned thing to stop it. She coughs again and her eyes close again…but this time they don't open. "Elena?" There's no response, her gasps ceasing and her head lolling to the side against the passenger window. "ELENA!"

He sees the town-line, and grinding the gears with the gas pedal against the floor of the truck as he slams on it, they fly over the line. He jumps out of the car, rips open the passenger door, and then drags Elena onto the ground, immediately doing chest compressions.

"Don't," he snarls. "Don't even think about it."

1, 2, 3. He drops his mouth to hers, pinching her nose closed and forcing air into her lungs before repeating the process, which seems to have no success.

"No!" And again, he repeats the process. "Elena," he croaks. "Come on, Elena! Dammit, please!"

Again, more compressions, before he checks for a pulse…she's turning human and if he doesn't get her to breathe, she'll die one.

He'll lose her if she doesn't start breathing.

"ELENA!" he shouts, tears falling freely and just as he screams for her, she's shooting up from the ground and clutching at her chest, gasping for air and looking around wildly before finding Damon. "Holy shit," he chokes out, grabbing her and pressing her against his chest, kissing her temple and keeping one hand on the back of her head. "Holy shit." He lifts her chin with his finger and then kisses her lips.

"You did it," she rasps, still panting and coughing slightly, though relaxing into his embrace. "You remember." She blinks tiredly up at him, and reaches up to wipe his tears. He doesn't bother to bat her hand away. "You remember."

He fights the rolling of his eyes and clutches the hand on his face in his own. "You nearly drowned – _again _– and you're worried about my memories?"

"If you hadn't have gotten your memory back, it wouldn't have mattered if I'd drowned. I wanted to be dead."

"Well, I did, and you're not. So tough luck, baby." He smirks and kisses her again, stroking her cheek and kissing her nose. "You're not allowed any more martyr tendencies. I warned you about risking your neck to save mine."

"God, Damon. I was so afraid I'd never see you looking at me ever again the way you are now." He doesn't even care that she completely ignored his last comment, that they're in the middle of the road, sitting and chancing being hit by an oncoming vehicle. All he cares about is the girl in his arms, relishing in the feeling of having her in them again. "How'd you do it?" she asks.

He lets out a melodramatic sigh, before smiling and saying, "Grams found a loophole so she could bring us back. Our memory was the price. She said we could remember if we really weren't content with our new lives...we still have to see if we can get Bon-bon to remember, see if she's truly content. Anyway short version of a long story is: I wasn't."

She laughs tearfully and says, "I can honestly say I'm happy you weren't."

"I love you, Elena," he breathes, resting his forehead against hers. "I can't believe I ever forgot you."

"Your mind wanted you to forget, but your heart must have wanted to remember."

"It did. I kept looking for excuses for why I felt so drawn to you, and I couldn't find a damn thing. Nothing I came up with was good enough." He dips his head to nuzzle her neck and breathes her in. Now that he's got her back, that he's found his own way back...he's never letting her go again. "I forgot my way, but I remembered your love…and deep down I knew I loved you too."

"Again," she says, her lower lip trembling, "not complaining."

"Me neither, baby." he smirks, before pressing his lips to hers. "Me neither."

* * *

**IMPORTANT AN (read all the way through please): Super quick fic. Never wrote, posted, and completed a mult-chaptered fic this quick. New personal record! **

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this. I know there are a few loose ends, like how Elena turned human, but didn't die because Damon resuscitated her, and Damon's humanity is still in tact and what that humanity means for them, and whether or not Bonnie will remember who she is. But I sometimes like to leave them be. And speaking of leaving things, leave a review? It may just get you an epilogue answering those questions. ;) Otherwise I think this is a fun, open-ending to "Remember My Love." Thanks, guys. Love you all and see you on the Other Side!**

**...Too soon? ;) Tee-hee. Bye! ~Kate**


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